Headlight



F. w. INGOLS.

HEADLIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1920.

I Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

UNIT ED STAT EgaS PATENT QFFICE.

FRANK W. .INGOLS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' HEADLIGHT.

Application filedMarch 24, 1920. Serial No. 368,561.

To elite/ 10m it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK W INeoLs, a citizen of theUnited States, and a residentof the city of Chicago, in the county of Cool:

wherein the direction of the shaft orbeam of light- ,furnishing the main source of illu mination derived therefrom is directed downwardly on the surface over which the light is being moved whereby objectionable glare which interfereswithgthe vision of persons traveling towards the li ht is eliminated. Headlights of the type under.consideration are primarily designed for use with vehicles, and while it is desirable that the glare there from above a certainhorizontal plane be eliminated, it is also desirable that this effect be attained witha minimum loss of light flux, and, that therays which are not used in illuminating the surface over which the vehicle is travelingbe utilized to provide a comparatively dim source of illumination at the upper part of the headlight.

It is an object, therefore, of thepresent invention to provide a headlight wherein a main shaft or beam of light is directed below a horizontal plane passing through the axis of the headlight.

It is another object of this invention to provide a headlight having adjustable means for directing and defining the major portion of the light emanating therefrom.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a headlight adapted to simultane ously provide bright and subdued illumination from a single source.

It is finally an object of this invention to provide aheadlight having transverse separated means associated therewith for defining bright beams of light emanating therefrom and directing the same.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the dis closures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

.by the reference numeral. 6, downwardly and outwardly through the lower half of a The invention (in a preferred form) is llustrated on the drawings and will be hereinafter more fully described.

011 the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a headlight embodying the principles of this invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a central vertical section of a modified form of headlight.

Figure 4 is a slightly reduced section on the line c i of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a slightly reduced section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

As shown on the drawings:

. he headlight of this invention comprises the usual casing 1 and mounted at the rear of said casing l and extending into the interior thereof at an angle to the axis of the casing is an electrical connection 3 in which a lamp 4: is mounted. Supported on said connection 3 and surrounding the lamp at is a parabolic'reflector 5 which acts to project a beam or shaft of light represented in the drawing by dotted lines, and denoted lens '7 which is mounted in the front end of the casing 1 and acts to close the same. The upper half of the lens or glass 7 is frosted at 8 and said frosted portion extends down wardly. to a horizontal line extending diametrically of the lens and, as shown acts to defin the upper limit of the bright beam of light 6. Positioned intermediate the reflector 5 and the lens 7 in a plane per pendicular to the axis of the casing 1 is a plate 9 which extends upwardly inside the casing to a height which brings the same substantially into a horizontal plane passing directly beneath the frosted portion 8 of the lens 7 The front side of said plate 9 is darkened or provided with a non-reflecting surface, as is the lower half of the inner side of the casing l forwardly of said plate and thus the upward reflection of bright rays from the front portion of said plate or from said portion of the casing is eliminated. The remainder of the interior of the casing 1 may, however, be provided with a bright reflecting surface, as is the rear of the plate 9, and consequently rays emanating from the reflector 5 in striking said plate 9 are reflected as shown by the dotted lines 10 to afford a diffused source of illumination through the frosted. portion 8 of the lens 7.

It will be noted from the drawings and from the foregoing escription that the top edge of said plate 9 also defines the bright beam of light 6 and since the bottom edge of the frosted portion 8 oi? the lens 7 defines the said beam oi light, it is apparent that the extentof the bright illumination furnished by the headlight is determined by the position and amount of separation of said. portions 8 and 9, and the limiting height of the top of said beam is determined'by a line passing through said points.

In the modified form of the device of this invention which is shown in Figures 3, -5land 5 a lamp 11 is mounted substantially axially of a casing 12 and said lamp 1.1 is surrounded by an ordinary reflector 18 which acts to reflect rays of light emanating from the lamp 11 in the manner indicated by the dotted lines 14. The height or upper extent of the bright beam of light which is provided by the headlight is defined in the manner described above by means of a plate 15 which is hingedly mounted in the casing 12 intermediate the reflector 13 and a lens or glass 16 which closes the front end of the casing. Said plate 15 is adjustably mounted. on a hinge 17 secured in the bottom of the casing and is adapted to be rotated about said hinge by means of an arm 18 secured thereto and extending downwardly through a slot in the casing. If desired said arm may be actuated from a distance by means of an operating rod or wire 19 secured to the lower end thereof, as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The upper side of the bright beam of light is also defined or limited by the lower edge of a translucent plate 20 which is constructed of ground glass or other suitable material and which is pivotally secured in 1 ,aoaeas the top half of the casing 12 by means of a hinge 21 mounted in said casing directly in rear of the lens 16. A transverse operating rod 22 is secured to said hinge 21. and extends outside the casing, having a crank 23 mounted on the end thereof, whereby said rod 22 may be rotated to actuate the hinge 21 and change the position of the plate 20 as shown in dotted lines in Figure It is of course evident that if desired operating means may also be secured to the end of the crank 23 whereby the plate 20 may be adjusted from a distance. An arrangement may also be provided if desired whereby the plate 20 may be folded against the top of the casing, this being conveniently accomplished by providing a square top casing.

It is a 'ipar-ent from the foregoing description t rat the headlight 01 this invention is adapted to afford a bright downwardly directed beam the direction and top limit of which are determined by the plates '8 and 9 or by the plates 15 and 20 and wherein light not utilized in providing the bright or main illuminating beam is used in illuminating the upper portion of the headlight to afford a signal or dim light. 7

I claim as my invention:

A headlightcomprising a casing, a portion of which is darkened to prevent reflection of light a lamp and reflector in the casing, opaque means for defining the upper limit of a beam of bright light emanating from the headlight, and translucent means separated from said. opaque means and also defining the upper limit of the bright beam of light and means operable from a distance for adjusting either the opaque or the translucent limiting means.

- F. W. INGOLS. Witnesses 1 L. O. SLoeen'r'r, R. F. COOPER. 

